Libby Crimmings, as you may know is the ONE Campaign’s Regional Field Director in Iowa and Minnesota. She’s done fantastic work around ONE Vote ’08 this election season, and wanted to reflect and share a few thoughts with us:

I came into work yesterday and hardly knew what to do with myself. The unbelievable feeling that the elections are over finally sank in. It seems like the elections have been 90% of what I have thought and talked about for the past year and a half. Now what?! After the initial shock I realized this is only the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

For almost two years thousands of ONE members have been attending almost every political rally, town hall, meet and greet, and other events such as straw polls or steak fries, raising awareness and asking the presidential candidates tough questions about their commitment to the world’s poor. I remember quite a few early events where members drove hours to a town hall event in a small town in Iowa, where it would be a presidential candidate, a pot of coffee and about 5 people. Those were early days where ONE members got a lot of face time with the candidates. Toward the end the events were huge rallies with thousands of people, less face time but more people to talk to about ONE! Somewhere along the line the candidates started wearing bands, recognizing ONE members, pointing them out in crowds, and sometimes letting them speak!

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On Thursday, Senator John McCain came to Iowa for the first time with new running mate Governor Sarah Palin.

The event was held at an air hanger in the Cedar Rapids airport and thousands of people attended, including many University of Iowa students in ONE T-shirts!

After the event, and after Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin toured parts of Cedar Rapids to see devastation from recent flooding, their motorcade pulled up to a long line of people, including ONE members, waiting for the senator and governor to board their plane.

As they walked through the line and shook hands, Senator McCain saw our ONE shirts and said that ONE is a wonderful organization and thanked us for what we do.

Next in the line came Governor Sarah Palin who shook hands with a ONE member who handed her a ONE band. She said “right on!” and immediately put on the band. (See our video). We were so happy to have represented ONE on Gov. Palin’s first visit to Iowa!

-Michele Meyer

Saturday was a big day for me. Not only was it my first time officially volunteering for the ONE Campaign, it was also my very first live concert! Dierks Bentley, along with Miranda Lambert and Halfway to Hazard, played a concert at the Jones County Fair in Monticello, Iowa. Dierks is a big fan of ONE and invited us to set up a ONE table at the show. There were over 15,000 people there so we spoke to many concert-goers about ONE and how they can get involved.

Many fans were really excited to see Dierks Bentley’s new CD where he is clearly wearing his ONE band in 3 photos! We even (more…)

Yesterday afternoon Sen. John McCain came back to Iowa for a townhall in Des Moines; it was his first time in the state since he’s clinched the Republican Party nomination.

I attended the 500+ person event with follow ONE volunteers to make sure that Sen. McCain remembered ONE and the fight to end extreme poverty during the general campaign. Shortly after taking the stage Sen. McCain recognized the many people in the crowd wearing ONE T-shirts, and asked me to stand up. I was already seated on the stage behind him, so I was facing the crowd. Sen. McCain spoke about the ONE Campaign and why he supports what we do. He then handed the microphone over and asked me to speak a little about ONE.

First, I thanked Sen. McCain for his sharing his plans for fighting malaria last week. (All the candidates released statements) and I explained ONE’s non-partisan efforts to educate and raise awareness about extreme poverty around the globe to the hundreds of Iowans at the event.

-Libby Crimmings, Iowa ONE Vote ‘08

Fidelis Wainaina passed away last week in Nairobi shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. She was the founder of the Maseno Interchristian Child Self Help Group (MICH) in Kenya and has served on the international council of the Micah Challenge campaign from its inception in 2004. Fidelis founded MICH to support orphans and street children at risk due to hunger and poverty and aggravated by HIV/AIDS.

In September 2007, Fidelis, accompanied by Pastor Adam Phillips, participated in a meeting of religious leaders in Iowa sponsored by ONE Vote ‘08. Below, Pastor Phillips reflects on Fidelis’ life and the time they traveled together to Iowa.

-Mark Brinkmoeller

There was no way we were going to make our flight. It was the morning hour rush and the road looked more like a parking lot than the expressway to O’Hare airport. Behind the wheel I was beginning to get tense and stress out a bit. Fidelis, my companion in the passenger seat, was calm and resolved – “God will not let us miss this flight Adam, it is too important to his cause. We should just pray.” And we did – and we made it to our gate in just enough time for us to get hot chocolates (her choice) and fly to Iowa to speak on the need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

That day at a luncheon convened by ONE Vote ’08, Fidelis moved a room full of presidential state campaign leaders to consider the call oo US leadership in the global effort to combat poverty, hunger, and disease. She inspired the room with her stories of hope and positive change out of Kenya, highlighting her agricultural work with children in Kisumu.

So, it is with heavy heart that I reflect on the passing of my friend Fidelis Wainaina, this past week, after a sudden illness. She was a dear colleague and leader in the Micah Challenge, a global Christian movement to make poverty history.

Fidelis is a model of someone who embodied “integral mission” – a whole faith exercised for love, justice, and the common good. She was on the front lines of the Green Revolution, winning the prestigious Yara Prize. As founding director of the Maseno Inter-Christian Self Help Group (MICH), she trained orphans and widows agricultural basics; when she taught young people how to plant a banana tree she offered a lesson God’s love and concern for everyone.

Reflecting on the MDGs last year, she reminded many to have “the understanding that global problems have a grass roots cause, a political cause and an international cause.” She exercised her gifts and talents in all these areas.

Fidelis’ story is only one story from the Global South of the kind of grassroots leadership in the fight to make poverty history. Her work, though based in western Kenya, had a global impact and will be reflected for a generation to come. She will be greatly missed. Her funeral is set for this Saturday. Peace be to her memory.

-Adam Phillips

(Adam Phillips is a pastor at Resurrection Covenant Church in Chicago and co-chair of Micah Challenge USA.)

ONE sponsored and decorated the 18th hole of the Downtown Des Moines Skywalk Golf Tournament. There were almost 2,000 people participating in the world’s largest indoor golf tournament held in a 3-mile section of the skywalk system! When golfers got to the 18th hole, they were shooting for a “Hole in ONE” through giant ONE bands set up on the hole.

We spoke to golfers about the campaign, handed out stickers and literature, bands, and of course, “Hole in ONE” prizes! Two volunteers even got their picture printed in a local weekly newspaper. The caucuses may be over but ONE is still talking to Iowans about extreme global poverty and disease. We had a fun day and got lots of great visibility to the campaign at the same time!

-Libby Crimmings

When I watched the Iowan caucuses on national TV on Thursday night, I quickly spotted ONE bands and shirts throughout the crowds. Now it’s your chance to share the stories that the TV cameras didn’t capture.

With months of candidate engagements with every major candidate, to our December “ONE To One” campaign urging Iowan voters to use our “On The Record” microsite to inform their election choices, to our “Caucus For ONE” campaign to get ONE planks added to every Iowan caucus party platform, the excitement Iowa ONE members created around the issue of global poverty on caucus night was predictable, and yet still really exciting to see.

If you’re an Iowan ONE member who was at a caucus last week or has been involved in any way during the months leading to the caucuses, please use the comment thread below to share your story. Your actions can serve as an inspiration for ONE members across the country.

I can’t believe we’re in the middle of January already! After months of hard work and dedication ONE members across the state of Iowa showed the nation that we not only stand up for Democracy but we stand up to fight extreme poverty as well.

ONE’s Iowa caucus project proved extremely successful with almost 700 registered participants around the state. ONE members and supporters wore T-shirts, bands and stickers for visibility. They also submitted and passed planks about extreme poverty to their county platform committee in hopes of eventually getting a plank put in on the state party platform.

At my location alone there were 3 people in ONE T-shirts! At the location across the street a ONE member was nominated to be the precinct caucus secretary, which was the location CSPAN was showing live across the country! Other members reported their whole families showing up in ONE shirts!

There were thousands of media people here from all over the world, and many of them were asking about ONE and what we are doing. We had a table set up at the convention center in Des Moines where most of the media outlets called home base. Our CEO David Lane came to speak with the press during a ONE reception along with State Co-Chair Former Governor Terri Branstad.

I would like to thank everyone who was instrumental along the path to this day. For every staff member, volunteer, campaign staffer, candidate, or just ONE member- thank you for everything you have done to help. To everyone who has volunteered time, tabled at events, blogged, written Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor, asked the candidates tough questions, and supported ONE at your caucus; Thank You! When it came time for Iowa’s turn in the spotlight, we sure know how to shine!

Always remember: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a singe step.”

This is just the beginning!

-Libby Pederson

I’m live blogging too. Except, unlike Josh Lozman who’s in Iowa, I’m just watching on TV from a caucus watching party.

First of all, at Precinct 53 in Des Moines, as aired on C-Span repeatedly, the caucus chairperson is wearing a ONE band and the man next to her has a ONE shirt on.

Second of all, (somewhat less important) does or does not the below potato chip (found tonight) look exactly like Iowa?

-Virginia Simmons

I am here in West Des Moines at Southwoods High School.

I’ve been told that the turnout here is enormous compared to past year. In one precinct, the number of people that changed or newly registered was larger than the number of people that caucused in any one caucus over the last twenty years.



ONE’s CEO, david lane, has been in Iowa all day along with many one staff and ambassadors. David was interviewed by several major media outlets about ONE’s involvement in the campaign and we have collectively been to dozens of events in the past 24 hours reminding candidates not to forget about the world’s poor.



Pictures and stories to follow…



-Josh Lozman